MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, two of the most heated rivals in UFC history, both have fights booked. Nurmagomedov will defend the lightweight title against Tony Ferguson in April of the new year, while McGregor is slated to return to the cage against Donald Cerrone on January 18 in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to UFC President Dana White, McGregor and Nurmagomedov will likely fight each other again thereafter if they win these upcoming challenges.

Natasha Hooper - December 11, 2019

Conor McGregor is scheduled to make his long-anticipated return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 246, where he’ll take on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The fight goes down on January 18. McGregor striking coach Owen Roddy recently appeared on the Eurobash podcast, where he explained what McGregor is doing differently to prepare for his upcoming bout.

Harry Kettle - December 11, 2019

Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has praised UFC commentator Joe Rogan for changing his stance on “The Game Changers” documentary. The doc focused on the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes, but alongside Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac., Rogan changed his tune after discussing the matter with James Wilks on a recent podcast. The honesty of Rogan in letting the world know that he had jumped to conclusions was met with a lot of praise, including from Schwarzenegger.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

Bryce Mitchell is the latest MMA fighter to call out Floyd Mayweather. Yet, the Arkansas native says his issue with the boxer happened 10 years ago and he wants to fight him for it. Bryce Mitchell also says he’ll hit Mayweather so hard he’ll finally be able to read. Of course, Conor McGregor joked that the boxer couldn’t read in the lead up to their fight.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

When Urijah Faber makes the walk to the Octagon in Las Vegas at UFC 245, the Hall of Famer says it could be the last time. Faber already retired once from the sport and made a massive return earlier this year with a knockout win over Ricky Simon. Now, at UFC 245, “The California Kid” will battle Petr Yan where Faber believes he will probably win by stoppage.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2019

Bellator color commentator and MMA referee Big John McCarthy has given his thoughts on the controversial stoppage in the Alistair Overeem vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight. Referee Big Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight at 4:56 of the fifth round after Rozenstruik knocked Overeem down. But instead of continuing to attack Overeem, Rozenstruik walked away from his opponent, which has led some to believe it was a premature stoppage.

Harry Kettle - December 10, 2019

Urijah Faber has revealed that he doesn’t believe Jose Aldo’s move down to bantamweight is a good idea. Aldo is set to face off against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 this weekend, although there have been more than a few concerns from fans and media members alike regarding whether or not the Brazilian would physically be able to get down to the necessary weight.

Mike Heck - December 10, 2019

Saturday night’s UFC 245 fight card is absolutely stacked. With three title fights and two very intriguing bantamweight matchups making up the main card, along with a slew of fascinating preliminary fights, the organization’s year end pay-per-view is shaping up to be one of 2019’s best. In addition, a welterweight matchup between Ben Saunders and Matt Brown — veterans of over 40 combined Octagon appearances — has a chance to steal the show away from the fights on the marquee. Saunders and Brown will compete during the ESPN2 preliminary card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Killa B” is looking to snap a three fight skid against a performance bonus magnet in Brown, who hasn’t competed since knocking out Diego Sanchez over two years ago and briefly retired from the sport.

Mike Pendleton - December 10, 2019

Duke Roufus has a team full of superstar fighters including top lightweight contenders Paul Felder and Anthony Pettis at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and after the Christmas holiday, another top fighter will be visiting to get some work in: Donald Cerrone. Ahead of his welterweight fight against former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, “Cowboy” will be making a trip up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to train with Duke Roufus and his team. Roufus announced this news while making an appearance on The Luke Thomas Show this past Friday.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2019

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is eager to step back into the Octagon and he’s hoping the UFC matchmakers pair him with Glover Teixeira next. Smith has not fought since June when he submitted Alexander Gustafsson in a big upset. He has been hoping to get back into the Octagon, but thus far has not been able to secure an opponent. A call out of Corey Anderson last month went nowhere after the UFC matched up Anderson against Jan Blachowicz at UFC Rio Rancho instead.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 10, 2019

Vitor Belfort is already a legend. Throughout his career, Belfort had broken barriers and reinvented himself. He’s gone from being a brawler who specialized in disposing of his opponents as quickly as possible to a more well-rounded athlete capable of submitting his foes as well as knocking them out.

Natasha Hooper - December 10, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father and coach Abdulmanap recently opened up on the preparation for Khabib’s upcoming bout against Tony Ferguson. The undefeated lightweight champion Nurmagomedov is expected to face off against No. 1 ranked lightweight contender Ferguson at UFC 249 in April 2020. This will be the fifth time the athletes have attempted to fight. Both fighters withdrew from their previous bouts for various reasons including health complications. Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap believes the prior cancellations only add to the importance of the fifth (and hopefully final) attempt at the matchup.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

In the main event of UFC 245, Kamaru Usman will look to defend his welterweight title for the first time when he battles his arch rival, Colby Covington. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -185 favorite while “Chaos” is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. This time around, the pros are split, as the majority believe it will be a close fight where it could go either way.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

Top UFC welterweight contenders Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington used to be friends — but no longer. Over the last few months, the pair have devolved into arch enemies. What better way to eulogize their ruined friendship than with a Friends-inspired tribute? See just that below:

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya seems to have packed on some size. The UFC middleweight champion flaunted his impressive physique in a recent Instagram post, attributing his apparent gains to all the “‘Murica food” he ate during his recent travels in the United States.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway and UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov were briefly scheduled to battle for the lightweight title in early 2018. Unfortunately, this super fight never materialized. That being said, Holloway still wants it, and is still optimistic it will happen.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

Geoff Neal is looking to be the first person to knockout Mike Perry at UFC 245. Although Neal is ranked and undefeated in the UFC, he is taking on an unranked Perry who is also coming off a loss. Yet, the Fortis MMA product doesn’t care as he knows “Platinum” is a big name.

Natasha Hooper - December 10, 2019

Sean O’Malley’s skills extend outside of the MMA sphere as the UFC bantamweight fighter placed 8th in a Fornite tournament and donated all his winnings to charity. The 25-year-old fighter is currently undefeated in MMA with a 10-0 record.